Let's talk about bashing

United Nations deserves to be chastised for its miserable record

Anita Snow of the Associated Press is clearly concerned that Republican presidential candidates are “bashing” the United Nations.

“All that U.N. bashing,” she writes, in an article that’s not labeled as commentary online, “has raised questions about whether a Republican victory could strain the relationship between the United Nations and its host country, the United States.”

Lord, we hope so! The United Nations needs a little straining!

Just wondering: What is Anita Snow’s faith in the United Nations based upon? Its record of achieving peace? Its moral compass, including decades of “bashing” (to use her term) the only democracy in the Mideast? Its financial worthiness and lack of corruption?

Instead of wringing our hands at what Republican presidential candidates are saying about the United Nations, why don’t we just do a little investigative reporting and find out if their concerns are valid?

Does the term “oil for food” ring a bell? Does the Associated Press know how to use “The Google?”

While America is one of its chief patrons, the United Nations is one of the most anti-American bodies in the world. The numbers alone tell you there’s an intrinsic, institutional problem: Of nearly 200 countries in the world, only about 30 are democracies. That tells you, and might even tell the Associated Press, something of value about the United Nations.

Meanwhile, its structure, frozen in time, is based on the state of the world just after World War II; most everything else in the world has undergone some change since then. And it’s quite likely the most bloated, most ineffective, most scandal-ridden, least-accountable bureaucracy ever devised by man.

As for accomplishing its mission of world peace, the blood of the past 66 years tells another tale.

This is what Ms. Snow reflexively defends, without inspection or question, against those mean Republicans.

As noted by author Max Boot, the United Nations’ own reports admit that “U.N. peacekeepers in Rwanda stood by as Hutu slaughtered some 800,000 Tutsi. In Bosnia, the U.N. declared safe areas for Muslims but did nothing to secure them, letting the Serbs slaughter thousands in Srebrenica. The organization’s meddling was worse than useless: its blue-helmeted troops were used as hostages by the Serbs to deter a military response from the West.”

“Responsibility for the failure to halt the 1994 genocide in Rwanda,” says a U.N. report, “lies with the U.N. system.”

“Genocide in Darfur (300-400,000 killed and 2.5 million displaced), AIDS in Africa (just under 24 million infected with HIV and 1.6 million dead), the Rwandan Genocide (800,000-1,000,000 killed), Communist China (1.3 billion living under a totalitarian regime), the rise of Islamic terrorism, the plight of women in Islamic and Arabic countries, and Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons and threats to wipe Israel off the map.

“The world sure has a lot of problems and these are just a few. None of them, however, measure up to what the U.N. General Assembly President Miguel d’Escoto termed the ‘single greatest failure’ of the U.N. – the failure to create a Palestinian state.”

That’s one perverted world view.

The Center on Law and Globalization, a partnership between the University of Illinois College of Law and the American Bar Foundation, notes that the U.N. Human Rights Council took three years to issue a verdict on Gadhafi’s Libya in the 1990s.

“It complimented Libya on its treatment of women,” the Center notes, “and expressed polite concern over the murder and torture of oppositionists. Not surprisingly, Libya ignored the Committee’s comments.”

Libya was later made chair of the council.

“The balance of history,” says the Center, “demonstrates that U.N. organs are more likely to turn a blind eye to human rights abuses.”

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UN membership reminds me of the discussion about voter ID. To vote in the UN you should have to pass a literacy test and have enough money to take care of yourself. Some countries should only be given 3/5ths of a vote.

I must say, after the dismal Afghanistan editorial I didn't think ACES could get any worse, then they go and write something like THIS, and TOTALLY REDEEM THEMSELVES!

This could not be a more correct assessment of the complete waste of money the U.N is unless they went further back in time to look at the other failures to make it complete. I will do that sometime just for the excercise, but today, let's focus on the RAPES, MURDERS and STEALING that has been going on in the name of the U.N. and paid for mostly by US.

Here is a list of number of criminal acts commistted by U.N. "Peacekeeprs" on "missions."

THESE ARE confirmed accounts of crimes and human rights violations committed by United Nations soldiers, peacekeepers and employees. NOT rumor, CONFIRMED.

The list is the conflict name, United Nations Mission and followed by THREE numbers; first number is the number of REPORTED of sexual abuse cases, the second is Murders, and the third is Extortion/Thefts.

Second Congo War (Aug 99-11), United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo; 150, 3, 44

Now if we want to get into FAILURES of missions, let's just wit for another time, it's too long to list right here, we can start with the ongo Crisis of 1960 and come all the way up to all current mission in the Congo for an example of a COMPLETE failure.

Why didn't the USA learn from history. The League of Nations that was the child of Woodrow Wilson was a failure. After it was created the USA did not join it because their was a provision in its charter that would have required the USA to intervene in any military action of two or more of its members. If the League did not work why would anyone think that the United Nations would work. It is basically the same cast of characters.

Subdoc679, realize some may be working on a different level than the obvious. Personally, I've always wanted to throw rocks at that big glass UN building in all the World History books. The UN does nothing, but legitimize thugs like Hugo Chavez acting like a fool.

The Security Council nations should take all the two bit countries of the General Assembly outback to the woodshed and whip them until they show some respect to their betters.

I've lived in lots of places myself and I've never found the really smart people to be the ones who go around telling people how smart they are. Those are usually the people so insecure and so lacking in self-respect that the only recognition of their intelligence is that they bestow upon themselves as they try to drag others down.

Intelligence is a wonderful thing, but it isn't the same as leadership qualities. The Prez has surrounded himself with ivy league brains and noble prize winners (which seems like a good idea) but often smart people are paralyzed with analysis to take quick decisive action. I haven't noted any great success at solving our economic or energy problems with such great minds on the tasks. Often the real intelligent are great at analyzing the problem, describing all the parameters, caveats, etc. but action is often slow and methodical (the scientific way). Humans are more intuitive than intelligent animals and we often under estimate this quality in our leaders.

Some great comments today. We are all ignorant of something! If you haven't realized this then you maybe stupid and ignorant. Oh the horror. I don't think there is any difference between IQ in various regions of the US (North, South, East or West) just in various populations.

We need to scale back on our relationship with the UN. We are giving them way too much money & power. If Western societies collapse (as it appears they imminently will), watch for the UN to step in & try to increase their muscle.